Fastening for handbags



Nova 29, 1949 v s FASTENING FOR HANDBAGS 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed March 3, 1947 BNVENTOR HERBER .T DAV/E6 ATTORN E Yd -NOV. 29, 1949 H, D s 2,489,622

FASTENING FOR HANDBAGS Filed March 3, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HERBERT DA V/[d ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 29, 1949 FASTENING FOR HANDBAGS Herbert Davies, Birmingham, England, assignor to Martins-Birmingham Limited, Birmingham, England, a company of Great Britain Application March' 3, 1947, Serial No. 732,009 In Great Britain June 18, 1946 1 Claim.

This invention relates to hand-bags, and particularly to ladies hand-bags, of the kind comprising a body part carried by two hinged or connected together mouth-frames adapted to come together to close the bag and to be secured by fastening means.

The object of the present invention is to provide a hand-bag of the kind referred to with fastening means of an improved and novel construction, which holds the bag securely in its closed position, and which is neat in appearance and may be readily and quickly operated.

According to the invention, a hand-bag, having two hinged or connected together mouth-frames, is provided with a spring-pressed or springinfluenced catch or fastening on the one mouthframe adapted to co-operate with a part on, or of, the other mouth-frame to hold the mouthframes, and the bag, closed; in combination with a lever on the one mouth-frame adapted to effect the disengagement of the catch or fastening from its co-operating part, to open the bag, by applying an opening pressure to the other mouthframe.

Preferably, the one mouth-frame of the bag is provided or formed with a flange which overlaps the other mouth-frame, when the two mouth-frames are closed together, and the improved fastening preferably comprises a ball catch on the one part (either on the said flange or on the part overlapped by the flange) engaging a recess or aperture, the ball being contained within a housing from which it is caused to project by a spring within the housing. The two parts of the fastening may be released, and the bag opened, by a lever fulcrumed to, and extending across, a top bar of the one monthframe, so that its one end engages, and may apply an opening pressure to, the other mouth-frame, or to the flange thereon.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings represents a side view of a ladys hand-bag provided with fastening means constructed in accordance with this invention, showing the operating lever, the bag being closed.

Figure 2 represents a vertical section through the upper part of the bag, and through the fastening, upon a larger scale, with the bag closed and the lever in its inoperative position.

Figure 3 is a similar sectional view, but with the bag partly opened, and with parts of the fastening disengaged, showing the lever in its operative position.

Figure 4 is a sectional view after the two mouthframes of the bag have been completely separated to open the bag.

Figure 5 represents a section on the line V-V, Figure 4.

Figure 6 illustrates a rear view of the operating 2 lever and of the attachment plate to which it is hinged.

Figure '7 represents a section on the line VII- VII, Figure 6.

Referring to the drawings, the improved handa bag comprises a flexible body portion I, of leather or other material, provided with a pair of inverted U-shaped mouth-frames 2 and 3, the lower ends of the respective depending sides of these mouth frames v2 and 3 being jointed together by hinges 8 (Figure 1), so that'the two mouth-frames may be moved angularly about their lower ends and opened and closed together in a normal manner. The said mouth-frames 2 and 3- are of wood covered with leather, although they may be of any other suitable material, if desired, whilst the top bars of the two mouth-frames are curved, as shown, but, if required, they may be straight.

vThese mouth-frames 2 and 3 of the bag lie closely one against the other when closed, and the mouth-frame 2 is formed, throughout the length of its .top bar, with a curved laterally-projecting flange 2 This flange 2 which may be integral with the frame 2, as shown, is of a width substantially equal to that of the top bar of the mouthframe 3, and it is arranged so that it completely overlaps the latter, as illustrated in Figure 2, when the mouth-frames are closed together. Let into the top edge of the mouth-frame 3, up to an external flange 4*, is a cylindrical metal housing 4 containing a coiled compression spring 5 and a ball 6, the latter being caused by the said spring to project partly from the housing, as shown. Formed in the opposed lower face of the overhanging fiange 2 of the other mouth-frame of the hand-bag is a recess or aperture 1 adapted to receive the projecting portion of the ball 6 when the mouth-frames are closed together and constituting a co-operating catch part, whilst disposed immediately in front of this recess is an L-sectioned metal striker-plate 9 secured over the lower front corner of the flange 2 to prevent wear. This striker-plate 9 may be shaped in underside plan as shown in Figure 5, having a semi-circular notch whose edge partly surrounds the recess 1. The fastening, thus provided, constitutes a ball catch which serves to retain the two mouth-frames of the bag in their closed together positions, but the arrangement is such that the bag may be opened by applying a lateral pressure to one of the mouth-frames.

In order to enable this lateral pressure to be readily applied, a lever I0 is provided. This lever, which may be shaped as shown, is connected to the mouth-frame 3 by means of an attachment plate I l to which the lever is hinged near its one end, the lever l0 and the attachment plate ll having co-operating hinge-knuckles l2 and I3 coupled together by a hinge-pin l4 (Figures 6 and 7). This plate II is secured to the outer face of the top bar of the mouth-frame '3, at the middle thereof, and the arrangement is such that the lever it extends transversely across the said top bar of the mouth-frame 3, with the shorter arm lit f the lever disposed opposite, and close to, the front of the striker-plate 9, when the bag is closed, as shown in Figure 2, the striker-plate 53 also serving as a bearing plate for the end of. the lever. In order to open the bag it is only necessary to raise the lower longer arm of the lever H3, as indicated in Figure 3. This action causes the shorter upper arm ll] of the lever to engage against the plate 9 on the flange of the mouth-frame 2 and to press the latter laterally away from the mouth-frame '3 which carries the lever. This results in the ball 6 being forced downwards by the edge of the recess 1, and by the edge of the striker-plate 9, against the action and pivoted on the outside of the inner frame,

of the spring 5, thus unfastening the bag, so that z..-

the ball t may be moved clear of the flange 2*, as shown, for example, in Figure 4.

To close the bag, the two mouth-frames 2 and 3 are moved together until the ball 6, now forced upwards again by its spring, engages against the striker plate 9-, further movement causing the ball to be forced downwards until it moves into the recess 7 in the flange 2 of the mouthframe 2 with a snap action, thereby securing the two mouth-frames together and holding the bag closed.

As will be seen from the drawings, the improved fastening is neat and simple in construction, and there is nothing likely to get out of order, the

only part of the device which is visible when one arm of the lever bearing on the outer face of the outer-frame when the other arm is moved outward and adapted to exert a force for overcoming the resistance of the catch-and disengaging the frames.

HERBERT DAVIES. I

REFERENCES CITED The following references are Of. record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name 

